Armour Collection B11E747 USAAF Lockheed P-38 Lightning Interceptor - Major Willard J. Webb, 459th Fighter Squadron, 80th Fighter Group "Burma Banshees" (1:48 Scale)"Why should we have a navy at all? There are no enemies for it to fight except apparently the Army Air Force."- General Carl Spaatz, Commander of the US 8th Army Air Force, after WWII

It was fast, heavily armed and extremely versatile. And many believe the Lockheed P-38 Lightning to be the finest American fighter of WWII. Its low-drag, aerodynamic shape and heavy weight enabled this twin-engine, twin-boomed aircraft to accelerate to high speeds faster than any previous warplane, making it a potent fighter and a superb fighter-bomber. Popular among fighter pilots, P-38s carried out the intercept mission that downed Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor. In the Mediterranean, Luftwaffe pilots showed respect for the Lightning by calling it "der gabelschwanz teufel" (the forked-tail devil). The ultimate P-38 was flown by Dick Bong and Tommy McGuire, who were among the most successful American fighter pilots in history.

Pictured here is an extraordinary 1:48 scale diecast replica of a Lockheed P-38 Lightning that was flown by the 459th Fighter Squadron, 80th Fighter Group. Sold Out!

Historical Account: "Burma Banshees" - The 80th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) was constituted on January 13th, 1942, and activated in February 1942. It was redesignated as the 80th Fighter Group in May 1942. The unit returned to the US in October 1945 and was inactivated on November 3rd, 1945.
During World War II, the group was the first USAAF unit to be stationed in Burma sfter the Allied retreat in 1942. During its two years in combat, this group, which called itself the Burma Banshees, kept the supply lines open to China while clearing the way for Merrill's Marauders to sweep northern Burma clean of the Japanese.